Random Reading Lists

I spend a awful lot of time being nosy. I like to see what other people are buying, reading, studying. How and why it differs from myself. It is also interesting to try to find correlation between a type of people and the content consumption associated with them.

This list includes goodreads profiles, personal blog links, amazon wishlists, etc. In the rare cases that someone has typeset their entire reading list in plain text where extensive enough I am likely to have given it it's own page such as Luke Smith's Library. You may notice some big names. You may not notice some small names. Regardless these are being documented here as I find them.

export const readingLists = { "Theoretical Physicists": [ { name: "Sean Carroll", desc: "Theoretical physicist at Johns Hopkins, author of The Big Picture", links: [ { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/151771.Sean_Carroll" }, { label: "Reading List (blog)", url: "https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2015/12/16/reading-list/" }, { label: "Recommended Novels", url: "https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2006/07/26/recommended-novels/" }, ], }, { name: "Carlo Rovelli", desc: "Theoretical physicist, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics", links: [ { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/108952.Carlo_Rovelli" }, { label: "Five Books on Time", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/time-carlo-rovelli/" }, ], }, { name: "Sabine Hossenfelder", desc: "Theoretical physicist, author of Lost in Math, YouTube science communicator", links: [ { label: "Books Read (blog)", url: "http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2016/09/ive-read-lot-of-books-recently.html" }, { label: "Personal Site", url: "https://sabinehossenfelder.com/books/" }, ], }, { name: "David Deutsch", desc: "Oxford physicist, pioneer of quantum computing, author of The Beginning of Infinity", links: [ { label: "62 Recommended Books", url: "https://www.mostrecommendedbooks.com/david-deutsch-books" }, { label: "Good Books Profile", url: "https://www.goodbooks.io/people/david-deutsch" }, ], }, { name: "Leonard Susskind", desc: "Stanford theoretical physicist, father of string theory", links: [ { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/30080.Leonard_Susskind" }, { label: "Theoretical Minimum References", url: "https://theoreticalminimum.com/references" }, ], }, { name: "Roger Penrose", desc: "Nobel laureate, author of The Road to Reality", links: [ { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1409.Roger_Penrose" }, ], }, { name: "Richard Feynman", desc: "Nobel laureate, legendary physics teacher", links: [ { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1429989.Richard_P_Feynman" }, { label: "Books Recommended By (aggregated)", url: "https://theceolibrary.com/books-recommended-by/richard-p-feynman" }, ], }, ], "Pure Mathematicians": [ { name: "Terence Tao", desc: "Fields Medalist, UCLA, one of the greatest living mathematicians", links: [ { label: "Blog (What's New)", url: "https://terrytao.wordpress.com/books/" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/155010.Terence_Tao" }, ], }, { name: "Timothy Gowers", desc: "Fields Medalist, Cambridge, editor of The Princeton Companion to Mathematics", links: [ { label: "Personal Page", url: "https://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~wtg10/" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/42307.Timothy_Gowers" }, ], }, { name: "John Baez", desc: "Mathematical physicist at UC Riverside, prolific blogger on math/physics pedagogy", links: [ { label: "How to Learn Math and Physics (reading list)", url: "https://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/books.html" }, { label: "Azimuth Blog", url: "https://johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/" }, ], }, { name: "Cédric Villani", desc: "Fields Medalist, author of Birth of a Theorem", links: [ { label: "Reading List", url: "https://www.thereadinglists.com/cedric-villani-mathematical-reading-list/" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/994420.C_dric_Villani" }, ], }, { name: "Jordan Ellenberg", desc: "Mathematician at UW-Madison, author of How Not to Be Wrong", links: [ { label: "Personal Site", url: "https://www.jordanellenberg.com/" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18693884-how-not-to-be-wrong" }, ], }, ], "Philosophers": [ { name: "Peter Singer", desc: "Bioethicist at Princeton, author of Animal Liberation", links: [ { label: "Favorite Books", url: "https://radicalreads.com/peter-singer-favorite-books/" }, { label: "Five Books (19th Century Philosophy)", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/nineteenth-century-philosophy-peter-singer/" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12397.Peter_Singer" }, ], }, { name: "Nigel Warburton", desc: "Freelance philosopher, host of Philosophy Bites, prolific Five Books interviewer", links: [ { label: "Best Philosophy Books 2025", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/best-philosophy-books-2025-nigel-warburton/" }, { label: "Best Philosophy Books 2023", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/best-philosophy-books-2023-nigel-warburton/" }, { label: "Best Introductions to Philosophy", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/introductions-to-philosophy-warburton/" }, ], }, { name: "Martha Nussbaum", desc: "Philosopher at University of Chicago, author of The Fragility of Goodness", links: [ { label: "Five Books (books by Nussbaum)", url: "https://fivebooks.com/people/books-by-martha-nussbaum/" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20757.Martha_C_Nussbaum" }, ], }, { name: "Cosma Shalizi", desc: "Statistician at CMU, polymath, 130+ book reviews by subject", links: [ { label: "Bactra Review (book reviews)", url: "https://bactra.org/reviews/" }, { label: "Reviews by Subject", url: "http://bactra.org/reviews/subjects/" }, { label: "Notebooks (400+ topic pages)", url: "https://bactra.org/notebooks/" }, ], }, { name: "Bryan Magee", desc: "British philosopher-broadcaster, presented The Great Philosophers (BBC)", links: [ { label: "The Great Philosophers (Goodreads)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23257.The_Great_Philosophers" }, ], }, ], "Literary Critics & Lit Professors": [ { name: "Harold Bloom", desc: "Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale, author of The Western Canon", links: [ { label: "Western Canon (full list)", url: "http://sonic.net/~rteeter/grtbloom.html" }, { label: "278 Books You Should Have Read (Goodreads)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/152097.Harold_Bloom_s_278_Books_You_Should_Have_Read_By_Now" }, { label: "Open Culture (free online versions)", url: "https://www.openculture.com/2014/01/harold-bloom-creates-a-massive-list-of-works-in-the-western-canon.html" }, ], }, { name: "Susan Sontag", desc: "Essayist and critic, author of Against Interpretation", links: [ { label: "93 Recommended Books (Goodreads)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/128270.Recommended_by_Susan_Sontag" }, { label: "Sontag's Re-reading List", url: "https://radicalreads.com/susan-sontag-favorite-books/" }, ], }, { name: "Alan Jacobs", desc: "Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Baylor, literary critic", links: [ { label: "Blog", url: "https://ayjay.org/" }, { label: "Reading List", url: "https://social.ayjay.org/reading/" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3957.Alan_Jacobs" }, ], }, { name: "Danny Yee", desc: "Independent book reviewer, 1,600+ reviews across all subjects", links: [ { label: "Main Site (reviews)", url: "https://dannyreviews.com/" }, { label: "Reviews by Subject", url: "https://dannyreviews.com/subjects.html" }, ], }, ], "Polymaths & Independent Researchers": [ { name: "Gwern Branwen", desc: "Independent researcher on statistics, AI, psychology, genetics", links: [ { label: "Book Reviews", url: "https://gwern.net/review/book" }, { label: "Goodreads (4,415 books)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/11004626-gwern" }, ], }, { name: "Patrick Collison", desc: "CEO of Stripe", links: [ { label: "Bookshelf (full catalog)", url: "https://patrickcollison.com/bookshelf" }, { label: "Novels", url: "https://patrickcollison.com/novels" }, { label: "Silicon Valley History", url: "https://patrickcollison.com/svhistory" }, ], }, { name: "Tyler Cowen", desc: "Economist at George Mason, Marginal Revolution blog", links: [ { label: "What I've Been Reading (200+ posts)", url: "https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/category/books" }, { label: "Five Books on Information", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/tyler-cowen-on-information/" }, ], }, { name: "Naval Ravikant", desc: "Investor, founder of AngelList", links: [ { label: "Recommended Reading", url: "https://www.navalmanack.com/navals-recommended-reading" }, { label: "212 Books Compiled", url: "https://www.mostrecommendedbooks.com/naval-ravikant-books" }, ], }, { name: "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", desc: "Author of The Black Swan and Antifragile", links: [ { label: "233 Books Mentioned", url: "https://recommentions.com/nassim-taleb/books/" }, { label: "66 Favorite Books", url: "https://radicalreads.com/nassim-taleb-favorite-books/" }, ], }, { name: "Derek Sivers", desc: "Entrepreneur, musician, author of Anything You Want", links: [ { label: "Book Notes (420+ books, rated)", url: "https://sive.rs/book" }, ], }, { name: "Scott Alexander", desc: "Psychiatrist, essayist at Astral Codex Ten / Slate Star Codex", links: [ { label: "Book Reviews (SSC)", url: "https://slatestarcodex.com/tag/book-review/" }, { label: "66 Books Reviewed (Goodreads)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/119219.Books_reviewed_by_Slate_Star_Codex" }, ], }, { name: "Michael Nielsen", desc: "Quantum computing researcher, writer on tools for thought", links: [ { label: "Books, Glorious Books (blog post)", url: "https://michaelnielsen.org/blog/books-glorious-books/" }, { label: "Goodreads (1,720 books)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/549089" }, ], }, { name: "Maria Popova", desc: "Writer and curator of The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)", links: [ { label: "The Marginalian", url: "https://www.themarginalian.org/" }, ], }, { name: "Bill Gates", desc: "Co-founder of Microsoft, reads ~50 books/year", links: [ { label: "GatesNotes Book Reviews", url: "https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books" }, ], }, ], "BookTubers & Content Creators": [ { name: "Cleopatrick", desc: "YouTube creator", links: [ { label: "Amazon Wishlist", url: "https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/1TD9CQ9LC5ESR?ref_=wl_share" }, ], }, { name: "Carolyn Marie", desc: "BookTube creator", links: [ { label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@CarolynMarieReads" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/49501801-carolyn-marie" }, ], }, { name: "Emma Reads", desc: "BookTube creator", links: [ { label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@emmiereads/videos" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10795588-emma" }, ], }, { name: "Prose and Petticoats", desc: "Literature and reading", links: [ { label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@ProseandPetticoats" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/93717002-prose-and-petticoats" }, ], }, { name: "Lanchen", desc: "Study and academic life", links: [ { label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@justlanchen" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/142073153-lanchen" }, ], }, { name: "Adam Walker", desc: "Close Reading Poetry", links: [ { label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@closereadingpoetry" }, { label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4272622-adam-walker" }, ], }, { name: "Ruby Granger", desc: "Study-with-me, academic life", links: [ { label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@RubyGranger8/featured" }, { label: "Goodreads (to-read)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/21679362?shelf=to-read" }, ], }, ], "Institutional & Historical Lists": [ { name: "St. John's College Great Books", desc: "All-required Great Books program spanning 3,000 years, Homer to the 20th century", links: [ { label: "Official Reading List", url: "https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/great-books-reading-list" }, { label: "Goodreads (100 books)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/122279.St_John_s_College_Reading_List" }, ], }, { name: "Harvard Classics (Dr. Eliot's Five-Foot Shelf)", desc: "50-volume anthology compiled by Harvard President Charles W. Eliot (1909)", links: [ { label: "Full Contents", url: "https://www.harvardclassics.net/" }, { label: "Wikipedia", url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Classics" }, { label: "15-Minutes-A-Day Guide", url: "https://www.mensetmanus.net/inspiration/fifteen_minutes_a_day/" }, ], }, { name: "Mortimer Adler's Great Books of the Western World", desc: "60-volume set, 517 works from 130 authors", links: [ { label: "Wikipedia (full list)", url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_World" }, { label: "Reading List from How to Read a Book", url: "https://www.tosummarise.com/mortimer-adlers-reading-list-from-how-to-read-a-book/" }, { label: "Complete 1990 Edition List", url: "https://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/book-lists/greatbooks.htm" }, ], }, { name: "Columbia University Core Curriculum", desc: "Required reading for all Columbia College students since 1937", links: [ { label: "Goodreads (21 books)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/46360.Columbia_Core_Curriculum_Literature_Humanities" }, { label: "Wikipedia", url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_Curriculum_(Columbia_College)" }, ], }, { name: "Five Books (Meta-Resource)", desc: "1,700+ interviews asking experts to recommend 5 best books in their field", links: [ { label: "Main Site", url: "https://fivebooks.com/" }, { label: "Most Recommended Books", url: "https://fivebooks.com/most-recommended-books/" }, ], }, { name: "Art of Manliness - 100 Books Every Man Should Read", desc: "Curated list spanning fiction, philosophy, history, biography", links: [ { label: "Full List", url: "https://www.artofmanliness.com/living/reading/100-books-every-man-read/" }, ], }, ], };

export const listCss = ` .rl-section { margin-bottom: 2.5rem; } .rl-section h3 { margin-bottom: 0.75rem; } .rl-card { padding: 0.6rem 0; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border); } .rl-card:last-child { border-bottom: none; } .rl-name { font-weight: 600; font-size: 0.95rem; } .rl-desc { font-size: 0.82rem; opacity: 0.6; margin-top: 0.15rem; } .rl-links { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 0.4rem; margin-top: 0.35rem; } .rl-links a { font-size: 0.8rem; color: var(--foreground); text-decoration: underline; text-underline-offset: 2px; opacity: 0.75; } .rl-links a:hover { opacity: 1; } `;

export const ReadingListGrid = () => { return (